VANILLA. 



501 



per cent.; Bourbon vanilla, 1-91 and 2*48 per cent.; and Java 

 vanilla, 2*75 per cent. The vanillin in the Bourbon and Java vanillas 

 is associated with an unpleasantly odorous volatile oil. for which 

 reason the Mexican variety, notwithstanding its inferiority in the 

 quantity of the aromatic principle, is preferred, and commands a better 

 price. 



The pods as received in Europe are made up in packets containing 

 fifty each, and should be fresh, unctuous and very aromatic. The 

 gathering commences towards the end of September. The pods, after 

 they have been plunged for a moment in a vessel of boiling water, 

 to blanch them, are then hung up in an airy place, and at this 

 stage there exudes from them a viscous liquid which must be removed. 

 The removal is facilitated by light pressure repeated two or three 

 times a day. This desiccation is a difficult operation, and must 

 proceed slowly. The pods are frequently oiled with mahogany-oil to 

 render them supple and preserve them from insects ; they are also tied 

 up with cotton thread to keep them from opening. These are delicate 

 operations, and the rareness of complete success explains the high 

 price of vanilla of the first quality. As soon as the pods are ready, 

 no time is lost in wrapping them in oiled paper and packing them in 

 tin boxes ; exposed to air they would speedily lose their aroma. . . . 

 The Vanilla, when covered with the brilliant silvery efflorescence, 

 caused by the essential salt contained by the fruit working its way out, 

 is called vanille givree, and is preferred to all others. This efflore- 

 scence sometimes makes its appearance on a pod two or three years 

 after its preparation for market ; kept in a hermetically closed box it 

 will retain its perfume for many years. Vanilla is despatched in tin 

 boxes weighing generally from 17 to 18 kilogrammes (or about 37 

 to 39 lbs.). The buyer should assure himself that the packets in the 

 box are entire, and that the pods are of the same length. Frauds 

 are often practised in the retail sale of vanilla. Some unscrupulous 

 persons impart a perfume by means of oil of benzoin to old dried-up 

 pods, soak them in a mixture of oil of sweet almonds and balm of Peru 

 to restore their softness, and dust them with salt to give them the 

 desired crystalline efflorescence. 



Beunion.^ — The introduction of the culture in this island dates from 

 about a quarter of a century ago, having been taken up after the 

 failure of the sugar-cane between 1850 and 1856. In 1857, 1917 

 kilos, were exported to France ; in 1858, 2841 kilos. ; and in 1861, 

 nearly 40,000 lbs. were exported, amounting in value to nearly 

 lOOjOOOZ. As the plant not only yields fine returns pecuniarily, but 

 is an ornament to the garden, a very large proportion of the popula- 

 tion are engaged in its cultivation — plants being found in every 

 garden — • and this fine industry is now with coffee the mainstay of the 

 island. 



A good deal of attention has been of late given to vanilla pro- 

 duction here. In 1871, the number of hectares under culture with 

 vanilla was 593, and the produce 56,203 lbs., of the approximate value 

 of 153,282Z., raised at the cost of little more than 5100/. In 1874, 

 the produce was 44,000 kilos., valued at 4,098,600 francs. 



